My children drink a lot of milk. A LOT. They also throw up a ton, like once weekly- but there's no rhyme or reason to it. They puke in the car when the road is curvy, they puke if they take too big a bite at dinner and it gags them, they puke in the middle of the night and sleep in their own vomit because they didn't wake up because it's, like, no big deal.
They can announce "I'm throwing up," and have enough time to make it to the toilet and don't even need or want any help. They just throw up and then are fine. It's super weird.
So, even though people have been telling me to get them off lactose for two years- I've pretty much ignored that advice.
It doesn't seem like "a lactose thing" it seems like a gag reflex thing, or an acid reflux thing.
But a couple weeks ago, we had a weird, rough week.
The boys each threw up once a day, but otherwise acted fine, for like 8 days in a row.
It was bizarre and it was a tipping point. So I took them off lactose.
It's so hard! Because, besides just drinking milk (which was easy to replace with lactose-free milk), we also eat a lot of cheese (quesadillas for lunch every other day), and the boys are used to a big bowl of yogurt with breakfast.
They have not been happy to let those things go. They both ask for yogurt several times a day, and I have yet to figure out how to cook without cream. Good thing we don't have to give up butter, because I would actually rather take puking than a butter-free kitchen.
BUT. No one has thrown up at our house since we went off milk.
Okay. That's only two weeks of no puking, but it's actually kind of a big deal.
On Sunday, we forgot to buy more lactose-free milk and since we are milk-drinkers, the boys each had several cups of regular milk. And since we were already making a day of it, we also let them have a snack of sliced cheese, and dinner of creamy, cheesy pasta.
No one threw up that night, but no one slept either.
The boys each got up twice in the night and didn't want to go back to sleep. Micah threw a raging tantrum at 2am that made me very grateful to have such a patient, helpful husband. (Since I mostly insisted on staying in my bed and whining while he dealt with things.)
I don't know. It could have very well been a coincidence. It probably was.
But I'm giving milk the blame.
The plan is to be "milk free" for the rest of March. Then to go BACK on to milk in April and see if there's a significant difference in my kids' behavior and health.
Meh. I guess I can fork over 30$ in milk a week.
Oh. You think that's an exaggeration?
Let's figure out the math.
The boys go through a half gallon a day, so 7 half-gallons a week.
The cheapest lactose-free milk I've found is $3 a half-gallon. ($21)
And Travis and I also go through a gallon or two of milk a week (another $3-6)
So. $27 a week on milk.
And if I am successful at my attempts to make lactose-free yogurt this week, that really would be $30 or more. Yikes.
No wonder my kids are pukers. That's a lot of dairy, huh?
Those of you with lactose intolerance (or lactose intolerant kids), any advice?
Can I bake with cream and milk? because it's hard to let those delicious things go! I assume I shouldn't make chowder.
Also, I'm pretty sure that my kids aren't SUPER intolerant, since they don't have constantly upset stomachs and they poop regularly and stuff, so is a bit of cheese or yogurt for lunch some days really going to make a difference if we're otherwise lactose free?
Anyway. I'll probably update you in April when the grand experiment is finished.
